SEABED COUNCIL DISCUSSES CALL FOR DATA ON INVESTORS' PLANS

Press Release
SEA/1561

SEABED COUNCIL DISCUSSES CALL FOR DATA ON INVESTORS' PLANS

KINGSTON, 25 August -- A recommendation by the Legal and Technical Commission, that the Council of the International Seabed Authority consider as approved the plans of work by seven pioneer investors for exploration of the deep seabed, sparked a debate at this afternoon's meeting of the Council at Kingston. The debate centred on whether documents submitted by the investors to support their plans of work should be made available to Council members before approval.

Several representatives, primarily from among the "Group of 77" developing countries, objected to the manner in which the Council was being asked to approve the plans of work based solely on a report by the Chairman of the Legal and Technical Commission, Jean-Pierre Lenoble (France), and without an examination of the form and content of the plans.

Each of the registered pioneer investors has submitted a plan of work for exploration which consists of documents, reports and other data, accompanied by a certificate of compliance and a factual report describing the status of fulfilment of obligations under the pioneer investor regime. The Commission's Chairman said each investor had updated the information provided in the documents both before and after registration, and had submitted its programme of work for the immediate future. The programmes of work contained a number of undertakings, some of them bearing on the obligations created by the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as a general assessment of the potential environmental impact of the proposed activities.

Representatives of Cameroon, Chile, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and the Sudan supported the call for full disclosure of the contents of the plans as submitted by the investors.

The representative of Jamaica challenged the logic of having the Council approve the plans of work of registered pioneer investors without having seen the relevant documents from each investor. Nigeria insisted that delegations should not have to make a special effort to become acquainted with the details of the plans of work, but rather that such documents should be made readily available. Kenya observed that the Council was being called upon to endorse plans that would constitute the first set of contracts to be

entered into between the International Seabed Authority and the pioneer investors; it would be irresponsible to take a legal decision without being privy to the form and content of those contracts.

Cameroon and Nigeria observed that representatives must explain to their governments the factors that informed their position on any given issue, and as such, must be able to take decisions with "a clean and clear conscience". In this case, the credibility of the Council and of the Authority itself was at stake. The Sudan, while acknowledging that the approval of work signalled welcome progress in the activity of the Authority, felt that such a decision should not be taken hastily. Nigeria said the Legal and Technical Commission must take the Council into its confidence.

In response to a query from Indonesia, Secretary-General Satya N. Nandan confirmed that the contracts -- to be issued on the basis of the plans of work -- would be issued for a period of 15 years and the overall plans of work covered that period. However, registered pioneer investors had submitted their "immediate work plans" outlining their planned activities for periods of up to five years. Addressing the concerns expressed for greater access to information, he observed that confidentiality of certain information was a requirement imposed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He proposed that, subject to consultations with the pioneer investors, the secretariat would provide 36 copies of the plans of work, as submitted or in extract. Each Council member would receive a copy in a folder, to be examined in the conference room. He undertook to have the folders ready for a closed session of the Council tomorrow morning, 26 August.

The Chairman of the Legal and Technical Commission expressed surprise at some comments by delegates, saying that the Commission had played its role as assigned by the Council and in keeping with the provisions of the Convention.

Francis Hurtut (France), speaking for the group of registered pioneer investors, stated that while he understood the concern of Council members, the investors would have to meet to determine which documents submitted to the Authority could be disclosed to members of the Council.

The Russian Federation said the Council should not challenge the decision of the Legal and Technical Commission in its capacity as the expert body charged with making recommendations of this nature. He said he supported France's position and maintained that all decisions should wait until after the registered pioneer investors could meet.

The United States said the issue of confidentiality of information was fundamental to the Authority's ability to attract potential investors. They gathered information at great cost and needed to know that such data were protected.

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The President of the Council, Lennox Ballah (Trinidad and Tobago), urged members to meet in groups with a view to resolving the issue, to ensure that the Commission's recommendations concerning the plans of work were approved when the Council met tomorrow.

He added that there were a number of issues to be taken up by the Council before the session ended on Friday, 29 August. Those include the 1998 budget and scale of assessments, and a report on the revised draft of the mining code. A small working group would deal with some outstanding issues relating to the budget. He remarked that the matter of assessments was of extreme importance because the continued operation of the Authority hinged on financial contributions by member States.

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